Rt. 33 detour to end this afternoon

Crossover lanes done. Cleanup, line painting are all that's needed.

Two-way traffic will return to Route 33 by this afternoon's rush hour, PennDOT says, although it will be limited to single lanes to avoid a sinkhole-damaged bridge.

The resumption of the northbound flow will end a two-week, 2.5-mile detour that caused driving nightmares in parts of Northampton County.

Crews spent Sunday completing major work on the Route 33 crossover lane that will divert northbound traffic onto the southbound side's passing lane, bypassing a bridge in northbound lanes that slipped into a sinkhole in Bushkill Creek.

Eastern Industries Inc. of Center Valley, which was awarded an emergency contract to build the crossover, still has to paint lane lines and clean up debris before the road is safe for motorists, said Ron Young, spokesman for the state Department of Transportation.

"The only day they didn't work on the crossovers was Friday with all the rain," Young said.

PennDOT closed a portion of Route 33's two northbound lanes after a 34-year-old bridge buckled on Jan. 24. The north lanes were closed at the Route 248 exit, at Northampton Crossings shopping center, in Lower Nazareth Township, and traffic was rerouted along Route 248 to Route 191 and back to Route 33 in Stockertown. At least one south lane remained open through the crossover construction.

"I'm sure our residents will be elated," Nazareth Mayor Earl Keller said Sunday. "It's been a long, grueling period of time, especially for those residents who live along Route 191. This town of ours was basically designed for horse and carriage. In normal times it's difficult to get around, and with the tractor-trailers and that increase of traffic it was unbelievable."

The crossover that will divert north traffic across a grassy median onto one of the two southbound lanes for about one mile begins a short distance north of a bridge over Main Street in Palmer Township. North and south vehicles will be separated by concrete barriers.

Traffic will cross back over a paved span just north of the damaged bridge, forcing the closure of the northbound off-ramp for the Route 191 exit for safety. The exit will remain closed while the crossovers are open.

A large portion of Route 33 sits in a sinkhole-prone area. However, PennDOT has found no sinkholes beneath the southbound bridge, which is about 50 feet west of the north side.

During a meeting with area legislators and the public last week in Nazareth, state Transportation Secretary Allen D. Biehler said PennDOT hopes to rebuild the bridge by the end of the summer.

At that same meeting, Walter E. Bortree, PennDOT's Lehigh Valley district executive, said the state will post signs to alert drivers of nearby businesses affected by the crossovers. PennDOT may also erect traffic lights at intersections to alleviate congestion, he said.

The state estimates replacing the span will cost about $6 million. PennDOT hopes the federal government will pick up the tab through the U.S. Department of Transportation's emergency disaster fund.

The bridge was deemed unsalvageable after it sank deeper while contractors with Nyleve Bridge Corp. of Emmaus tried for a week to fill the sinkhole with cement-based grout. Nyleve, which was awarded the emergency contract to shore up the bridge, is dismantling it.